AUBURN – The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art is presenting the next film in the 2011-2012 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers. “Welcome to Shelbyville,” directed and produced by Kim A. Snyder, will be screened Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 6 p.m.

“Welcome to Shelbyville” is a glimpse of America at a crossroads. In this one small town in the heart of America’s Bible Belt, a community grapples with rapidly changing demographics. Just a stone’s throw away from Pulaski, Tenn., the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan, longtime black and white residents are challenged with how best to integrate with a growing Latino population and the more recent arrival of hundreds of Muslim Somali refugees.

Set on the eve of the 2008 presidential election, the film captures the interaction between these residents as they navigate new waters against the backdrop of a tumultuous year. For more information on this film, go to www.welcometoshelbyvillefilm.com.

Southern Circuit is the nation’s first regional tour of independent filmmakers, providing communities with an interactive way of experiencing independent film.

The tour takes the audience away from their televisions, DVD players and computers to connect them with independent filmmakers and encourage them to talk with one another about the films and their meanings. Southern Circuit transforms watching independent films from a solitary experience into a communal one.

The film screening is open to the public and guests are encouraged to stay for free coffee, dessert and discussion with the filmmaker following the film. For more information, go to www.jcsm.auburn.edu.